Not Quite Smoke and Mirrors
by deliriumofsorts
Summary: While walking around, Trucy finds a magician's wand and decides to keep it, completely enthralled. Little does she know, it contains actual magic, which freaks Apollo out to no end. Takes place after Dual Destinies. One-shot.


Trucy hummed as she walked around the block, admiring several sights: the sky was a beautiful light blue, pleasant and cloudless with the sun shining, and birds were chirping softly as they were perched on tree branches and power wires.

There was not a single person in sight other than the young magician herself on the sidewalk, which she didn't seem to mind; as much as she found it enjoyable being surrounded by people, especially when performing her magic shows, she knew it was good to take breaks and unwind, having some time to herself once in a while.

As she was nearing the Wright Anything Agency, her final destination in her walking regime, something on the ground had caught her eye — something peculiar, but at the same time, the strange object had a sense of familiarity.

She picked it up, and upon closer inspection, realized it was a prop magic wand, and she smiled. Despite the fact its appearance was so bland compared to her regular ornate one, she figured it could be a backup if she ever misplaced it, or it could even serve as a replacement as well.

Twirling the magic wand a few times in her fingers, she looked at the Wright Anything Agency in the distance, and knew what she had to do.

* * *

"Hey, everyone!" she exclaimed as she opened the door to the Wright Anything Agency, only to be met with Apollo, who waved back.

"Oh, hi, Trucy. You just missed Mr. Wright and Athena. They went downtown to see who could eat the most or something. Naturally, it falls to me to clean the toilet," the red-clad lawyer sighed. "But on the bright side, you look really happy. Did something happen today?"

"Yup! Something really great happened just a few minutes ago, actually! Look, I found this baby on the street!" She presented the newfound magic wand to Apollo in what seemed to be the most flamboyant way in an attempt to impress him, but all she received was a blank stare. "What? Come on, don't let its appearance deceive you! It looks like it's got a lot of potential!"

"You found it out on the street? What if someone, like, dirtied it with their unclean hands or something?"

"Well, yeah! That's why I'm going to wash it off later! Apollo, I'm not dumb. What I am, though, is a magician — "

"...Later, and not now?"

" — that's not the point, Polly! Look, I know a good prop when I see one. So what if it's got one of those standard black-and-white designs, but it's got a super cool vibe, too! But before it can join me on stage at The Wonder Bar, I've got to test it out!"

Apollo gave a sigh. "Trucy. It's a prop. You do stage magic for a living. You don't need to test it out because you're not doing actual magic things, like casting spells."

Trucy huffed. "I know, that Apollo! I mean, I've got to let that wand speak to me! I've got the get the feel of it, you know! When I wave that new magic wand around, will it feel natural, like there's nothing there at all? It's.. it's just like you and your Chords of Steel!"

It took everything Apollo had to not storm out of the agency. As much as he knew how well-meaning Trucy was, sometimes she was a bit too much to handle. Instead, he forced himself to take a deep breath and nod. "Okay. If you put it that way, I guess there's nothing to argue about. Go ahead and test it, then. I'll be here."

"Great!" Trucy smiled as she took off her hat. "Since I can't really, you know, do a magic trick properly right now, this'll just be a mock magic trick. And you're my mock audience, Polly!"

Apollo kept silent and gave a slight smile.

Trucy placed her hat on the glass table situated between the two sofas, and beckoned Apollo to come closer. "Alright. Thanks for being a good sport and volunteering to be my audience for today's practice trick, Apollo! Well, you know how there's nothing in this hat, right?"

"Yep."

"Okay, good. So, I'll just tap the hat with my magic wand here, and — " Before she could even finish her sentence, a small burst of purple magic had spewed from the end of the wand and directly into her hat, causing it to be blown away to the other side of the room.

Apollo's jaw dropped, while Trucy gasped, her hand over her mouth.

"Trucy? That's... not part of your magic trick, is it?"

"No... it wasn't supposed to be."

Apollo put his hands on his temples. "I guess that magic wand really does contain magic. ...Which doesn't make sense. Magic isn't an actual thing, right?"

"I'm not sure about that anymore, seeing how I just did... that. I didn't even know I could cast spells, like a true magician! That's so cool!"

"Yeah, it's just that — what, what?" Apollo's voice nearly broke, absolutely incredulous at what Trucy had just said. It was quite clear he was nearing hysteria. "You think this is so cool? That magic exists and can probably kill all of us? Trucy, that's not how most people would react in the situation!"

All Trucy did was just laugh. "Apollo, stop worrying! Magic won't kill all of us, I'll make sure of that. And besides, only you and I know about its magic properties. The others don't! If there's more to this wand than just gusting things away, I can probably incorporate some of the magic into my tricks! Impress the audience and make my way into the magicians' hall of fame!"

The lawyer heaved a big sigh once again and slumped onto one of the sofas. "Well, yeah, but how are you going to know which spell, if you can even call them that, to cast? What if you mean to levitate something but instead accidentally hurl a big fireball into the crowd? ...Look, if you ask me, I think the best solution for this whole thing is to trash the wand."

Trucy just shook her head at him. "Really, Polly? You think that the wand can hurl a magic fireball? All it did was blow my hat away! It wasn't even that bad!"

"Listen, please — "

"No, Polly. You listen, and please stop being so paranoid! I'm sure the other spells, if there are any, aren't that bad. Just trust me on this. I'll even show you!" She twirled the wand in her fingers again, and readied herself. With a flick of her wrist, she half-jokingly exclaimed, "Presto!"

She expected to cast something similar to what she had accidentally casted before: something harmless in nature, and quite a showstopper for something so simple. What she didn't expect was a strong beam of light clashing with the wall, successfully creating a gaping hole.

Apollo was trying not to cry on the spot.

"Oh. Um... oh no. This is bad." Trucy let the magic wand drop to the floor. "I'm sorry, Apollo! You were right! I should have trashed the wand away! When Daddy and Athena come back... they won't notice right?"

"Notice what?" came a bright, cheery voice that Trucy knew it belonged to Athena, and she turned her head towards the entrance of the Agency. Somehow they had come in without making a sound.

"Trucy, dear?" Phoenix asked, looking at the hole in the wall. "Is there, uh... something you want to tell us? About the hole in the wall, I mean? I won't get mad at you. Apollo, maybe, but I just want to know."

All the magician could do was smile sheepishly as Apollo fainted.


End file.
